WW - Before and After Photos

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

It's been a while since I have shared a before and after, so I thought it would be fun to do so today- since I always mention that I'm up to my eyeballs in editing :) Here is an example of my process.

I import my RAW files directly to my external hard drive through Lightroom. I then select my favorites - usually 25-30 for a one hour session- and do a clean edit in Lightroom, adjusting white balance, cropping if necessary, and giving the image a gentle pop with the tone curve panel. I also reduce clarity a touch to smooth skin on portraits. I will sometimes remove small distractions, but usually do most of my cloning in Photoshop.

I then export to PS CC for the final edit, which is determined by the mood of the image and, frankly, just my instincts on what it needs. For this image, I warmed it up and painted some color on the foliage. I added a slight vignette and also cleaned up the green on the wood, which I found distracting. Then I sharpened and that's it. Of course, for some images, I do additional artistic editing if I feel moved to do so - but, I try to keep it simple and batch process to save as much time as possible.

These are screen captures of the process: 


It has taken me many, many hours to develop my editing skills and I still have a long way to go. But, I am getting more efficient and learning new things all the time and I love that the creative possibilities are endless. Lightroom is a huge time saver and I love the ease of organization. PS was very daunting at first, but I am getting more and more comfortable with it.

What's you favorite way to edit your images?
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Anonymous said...

This is a great edit and compliments their cool, blue outfits!

Tamar SB said...

Love seeing the progression of the edits!

JennOvey said...

I'm still learning to use Photoshop but feel as if I'm pretty much a Lightroom queen, haha. Love your editing style and process!

Gina Kleinworth said...

It's gorgeous!!!!! Obviously starting with a beautiful SOOC is key - you always do that effortlessly. But the final- with the vibrant colors, sigh... I love your editing style. One day- one day I will be able to have you do our family pics & I can get away from the tripod :)

Pam @ This House Our Home said...

Beautiful edits! I find the whole editing process sooo time consuming. I've just been using photoshop but have recently been thinking about lightroom. Everyone seems to love it.

tiarastantrums said...

I use LR always. I did TRY PS, but I just kept getting lost and frustrated so I gave up.

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